Crosbie is Chair of the Department of Architecture and an associate professor at the University of Hartford. He has been involved in architectural education for more than 20 years, and has lectured at architecture schools across the U.S. and abroad. He has been an editor for a number of national architectural magazines, and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Faith & Form, a journal on religious art and architecture. He is the author of more than a 20 books on architecture (including 5 books for children). He is also a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and writes about architecture and design for the Hartford Courant. A licensed architect, Crosbie previously practiced with Centerbrook Architects  and consults with Steven Winter Associates. He studied architecture at Catholic University.

The Inform Awards recognize outstanding work in landscape architecture, interior design, and object design. The program is open to anyone in the Inform magazine primary circulation area, including architects, interior designers, landscape architects, furniture designers, industrial designers, students, and faculty.

Entrants must have a business address in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, or North Carolina, and submitted work must have been completed after January 1, 2007.  More>>

Nominations are for a four year term, 2013-2016, and AIA representatives may be scheduled for up to one school visit per year.  The AIA seeks members with a range of experience from various geographic locations to serve on visiting teams along with representatives of AIAS, ACSA, and NCARB. Spanish-speaking practitioners are needed and diversity among team members is desired.

School visits are over a 5-day period from Saturday–Wednesday and are generally planned during the months of February and March each year. NAAB is responsible for scheduling team visits. Team member expenses are reimbursed. In order to be eligible to be assigned to a visiting team, nominees must complete the online training and the face-to-face workshop. The NAAB provides workshops 3-4 times each year usually in conjunction with collateral annual meetings. The AIA encourages members who apply to plan to attend the AIA Convention in Washington DC to attend the face-to-face training which will take place on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. Travel expenses for attending the training workshop are the responsibility of the nominated member

If you would like to be considered, please submit a letter of interest and one-page resume no later than March 1 to Suzanna Wight Kelley, AIA at suzannakelley@aia.org.

Clark Elevated to Fellowship
The Society’s Immediate-Past President James P. Clark has been elevated by the AIA to its prestigious College of Fellows. More>> 

Students Compete in Virginia Society AIA Prize
Students from Virginia’s four architecture schools took part in the 32nd annual Virginia Society AIA Prize competition over the weekend of Jan. 27–30, 2012. More>>

Member Named Among Most Admired Educators
Robert Dunay, FAIA, the T.A. Carter Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech, has been named one of the 25 Most Admired Educators of 2012 by the magazine DesignIntelligence. More>>

AIA Announces National Legislative Agenda
The American Institute of Architects recently unveiled an ambitious 2012 legislative agenda that has creating jobs in the hard-hit design and construction industry as its top priority. More>>

The Future of the Past
Noted expert and author Steven W. Semes discusses the challenges faced by review boards, architects and designers, and the difficulties inherent in following sometimes confusing historic standards. More>>

Jameson Wins Institute Honors
Virginia member David Jameson’s Record House Revisited in Owings Mill, Maryland, was selected as a 2012 recipient of the Institute Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects. More>>

2012 Gubernatorial Appointments
The governor will be selecting in 2012 several Virginians to serve as leaders of several agencies.  The VSAIA offers the governor a slate of nominees that the VSAIA Board believes is capable of leading the Commonwealth in becoming more responsive and more efficient in providing services to the public. More>>

Feedback from prior conferences tells us that  attendees want information on the latest developments in the industry. Specific, focused seminars should be proposed that can convey information in one of these formats:

• Three- or six-hour workshops
• 90-minute or three-hour seminar presentations

Keep in mind that we are looking for sessions that are interesting, relevant to an audience of architects, and reflect current or emerging practice.  To propose an offering, please complete the required Presentation Information Form and submit it to us by Friday, April 27, 2012. Your proposal will be reviewed by the Program Advisory Group and you will be notified if your proposal has been accepted.

Tell us about your presentation. Be prepared to include:

• A description of your workshop
• Your presentation format
• Audience level (introductory, intermediate or advanced)
• Your presentation style
• Main learning objectives
• A short biography for you and for any co-presenters along with any recommended reading

Submit your presentation proposal online at www.archex.net.

Mark your calendar for Nov.7–9, 2012, for the 25^th Architecture Exchange East.

James P. Clark, FAIA

The Society’s Immediate-Past President James P. Clark has been elevated by the AIA to its prestigious College of Fellows — an honor awarded to members who have made contributions of national significance to the profession.

Throughout his 25 years of membership in the AIA, Clark has worked tirelessly to create programs that empower collaborative connections between architects, students and institutions that inspire awareness, creativity, education and excellence.

Clark founded and chairs the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds on the National Mall, a competition that has attracted both national and international attention and has facilitated free discussion outside the highly sensitive political world of reviewing agencies.  During his term as President of the Virginia Society AIA, he convinced the AIA, George Washington University, and architecture schools throughout the nation to sponsor the competition the results of which will be featured in an exhibition called Someday in the Park with George at the Virginia Center for Architecture opening April 12, 2012. Clark also founded and leads the Annual Interschool Design Competition at the National Building Museum and helped found AIA Northern Virginia’s School Connections Committee.  As the Society’s Vice President for Professional Excellence, he was instrumental in establishing the Prize for Design Research and Scholarship and the Emerging Leaders in Architecture programs.

The 2012 Fellows will be honored at an investiture ceremony on Thursday, May 17 at the 2012 National AIA Convention.

© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

The American Institute of Architects recently unveiled an ambitious 2012 legislative agenda that has creating jobs in the hard-hit design and construction industry as its top priority.

“Architects are by and large small businesspeople: ninety-five percent of architecture firms in the United States employ 50 or fewer people,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA, himself a small business owner. “Meeting the challenges our communities face — lost jobs, outdated and unsafe infrastructure, abandoned buildings and neighborhoods, rising energy costs, and distressed main streets — demands a strong design and construction industry that is ready and able to get back to work.

“If enacted, this agenda would go a long way towards putting our sector back on its feet to do just that,” Potter said.

The AIA’s “Plan for Economic Growth” concentrates its efforts on solving the four key economic challenges facing the profession:

Removing Barriers to Private Sector Lending   Thousands of needed construction projects that would employ millions of Americans are on hold because credit is still frozen. Banks, especially smaller community banks, want to lend but new federal regulations make it difficult. The AIA is doing its part to help make financing available with its Stalled Projects website, launched in 2011, to match building projects to investors. But Congress needs to do its part by passing legislation such as the Capital Access for Main Street Act, which would help prevent large numbers of commercial foreclosures and free up credit to help small business get back to work.

Saving Energy, Creating Jobs   Across the country, building owners, state and local governments and school districts want to lower energy bills by retrofitting their buildings. AIA member firms are answering the call by signing up for the AIA 2030 Commitment to develop plans to ensure their projects and practices meet far-reaching green goals. Congress can spur tens of thousands of more jobs by increasing the value of the Federal Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction by increasing it from the current $1.80sf to $3.00sf and by making changes that make the deduction easier to use by more people

Helping Small Firms Grow   Small architecture firms and sole practitioners work in every community in the country to help homeowners and businesses design better buildings. But high taxes and burdensome paperwork hold them back. As Congress looks to reform the tax code and reduce the budget deficit, it needs to ensure that tax rates on small entrepreneurs are cut while preventing efforts to penalize smaller design firms.

Revitalizing America’s Neighborhoods   Crumbling infrastructure, high unemployment and rising traffic congestion have hurt our nation’s communities, reducing safety and increasing pollution. Outdated federal transportation laws and tax policies have slowed projects down, deprived the public of a voice in the planning process, and forced Americans to spend more time in their cars. Congress needs to pass transportation reform legislation this year that gives people the ability to create and sustain prosperous communities with real choices in transportation options. The AIA also urges the administration to ensure that lending standards account for the kinds of mixed-use developments that communities need in order to bring back economic vitality and jobs.

For more information, or to get involved, visit AIA Issues & Advocacy.

© 2006, The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.

Students from Hampton University, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, and the University of Virginia took part in the 32^nd annual Virginia Society AIA Prize competition over the weekend of Jan. 27–30, 2012. From those submissions, each school advances 10 finalists; the winning design will be selected by a jury in February.

This year’s competition problem was developed by faculty at Hampton University and addressed our ability (or inability) to provide temporary emergency housing. Students were asked to propose a semi-permanent and reusable intervention in one of the region’s most naturally vulnerable locations — Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The problem asked students to design one prototypical unit, not to exceed 600 square-feet, capable of housing up to 4 individuals. Designs were to include a site plan demonstrating how four of these prototypical units could be arranged to form the embryo of a community. Students were also asked to envision how these structures could be used as housing for special events during non-catastrophic times.

The Virginia Society AIA Prize — along with the accompanying $2000 check — will be awarded during the Virginia Design Forum: Skins, March 16-17, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Best of School nods (and possibly an honorable mention or two) will be noted as well. An exhibition of all of the finalists will tour each of the schools and will wrap up in the ArchEx Exhibit Hall at Architecture Exchange East on Nov. 8–9.

Robert Dunay, FAIA. Image courtesy Va. Tech.

Robert Dunay, FAIA, the T.A. Carter Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech, has been named one of the 25 Most Admired Educators of 2012 by the magazine DesignIntelligence.

DesignIntelligence, the only national college ranking survey focused exclusively on design, annually selects educators and education administrators who exemplify excellence in design education leadership for this distinction. The disciplines of architecture, interior design, industrial design, and landscape architecture are included.

This is the third time Dunay has received this recognition from the magazine.

Other notables include Scott Poole, who recently left Virginia and his position as director of the School of Architecture and Design at Virginia Tech to become Dean of College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee; and Elizabeth Meyer, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at University of Virginia’s School of Architecture.

The amendment, which must pass two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly and be approved by the voters, and the 2012 pending legislation make it impossible to advise architects’ clients on the probable cost and time requirement for their potential projects.  Or even to suggest that one site might be better than two or three others being considered.  The members of the Joint Legislative Committee (JLC) – representing of the VSAIA, the Virginia Association of Professional Engineers, and the American Council of Engineering Companies/Virginia – believe these legislative measures go too far.  Some of this year’s legislation inserts provisions that would compensate land owners for “lost access and lost profits.”  These and other provisions make the construction projects less certain and more expensive, the JLC members believe.

The protectionism bills did not attempt to adjust the existing language that allows Virginia state agencies and localities to mimic the procedures adopted by neighboring states.  For example, protectionist language that exists in North Carolina law will be used against North Carolina vendors who wish to conduct business in Virginia.

The JLC also opposes a bill to require localities to use the e-Virginia (eVA) site to advertise their upcoming projects.  Currently, localities must advertise in a “newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the contract is to be performed.”  Architects on the JLC complained about eVA’s performance and the quality of projects generated.

Within the myriad bills and interests represented in those bills lie a few measures that the VSAIA will support.  The VSAIA will support the high-performance buildings bills introduced by Del. Chris Jones and Sen. Chapman Petersen (HB 1167  and SB 160) and three bills that support procedures already being conducted by the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects (HB 390, HB 937, and HB 938).

Architects representing the VSAIA on the JLC committee are David Puckett, AIA, and William Evans, AIA.  The committee meets weekly during the session to work with our legislative counsel Reggie Jones and Patrick Cushing, both of Williams Mullen.

Practice
Oppose:  Bills would amend constitutional amendment concerning eminent domain

HB 5, HB 597, HB 1145, HJ 3, SB 240, SJ 3, SJ 67, and SJ 117

Committees reviewing these bills killed most of them January 25
HB 449, HB 529, HB 530, SB 377, SB 525,  SB 526, SB 572, SB 589, SB 601

Amend:  Bill would provide tax incentives for large firms hiring SWAM businesses. JLC would delete a provision to narrow the “small” definition to those only in underutilized business zones.

HB 228

Oppose:  Quality of e-Virginia’s product for architects does not match that found in print media.

HB 1193

Regulation

Support:  Would require General Assembly to receive study from DPOR prior to considering regulating any profession.   Would expedite licenses for qualified spouses of military personnel (APELSCIDLA does this for all applicants already).  Would accept qualified military experience in consideration of licensure by comity (APELSCIDLA does this for all applicants already).

HB 390, HB 937, and HB 938

Energy

Support:  Would establish specific energy criteria continually updated by Department of General Services and based upon LEED, Green Globes, and other standards.

HB 1167 and SB 160

Support:  Would require the Virginia Department of General Services to audit all state-owned buildings 50,000 s.f. or larger to determine their energy footprint and to update that analysis annually.

SB 621

The Future of the Past, by Steven W. Semes

How should contemporary additions to historic structures or new buildings in historic districts relate to the existing character of the neighborhood? Noted expert and author Steven W. Semes discusses the challenges faced by review boards, architects and designers, and the difficulties inherent in following sometimes confusing historic standards and guidelines  on March 5^th, 5:30-7 pm,  at the Virginia Center for Architecture,  2501 Monument Ave.

Increasing public concern has arisen over new buildings and additions to old buildings that are conspicuously in contrast with their surroundings. Such projects are often justified by an interpretation of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (the de facto national preservation policy written and administered by the National Park Service) that places greater weight on “differentiation” than on “compatibility”—the two requirements for new construction in historic settings specified in the Standards. This interpretation has led architects and historic district commissions to adopt contrasting styles of architecture to satisfy the “differentiation” requirement, though the Standards do not mandate any stylistic approach. In many instances, architects designing in traditional styles have encountered resistance from preservation authorities when proposing stylistically sympathetic designs in historic settings.

In his book, The Future of the Past: A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urban Design and Historic Preservation (W. W. Norton & Co., 2009), Semes  reflects on the emergence of new traditional design practice among contemporary architects and urban designers and the issues this raises in the preservation field. He makes a persuasive case that context matters and that new buildings and additions to old buildings should be visually harmonious with their neighbors.

A practicing architect for more than 30 years, Semes has designed a variety of projects for preservation and new construction throughout the United States. In addition to many articles, Semes is also the author of The Architecture of the Classical Interior (2004) and a contributor to “The Elements of Classical Architecture” (2001), also published by W. W. Norton & Co. An Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, Semes  was Academic Director of the Notre Dame Rome Studies Program From 2008 to 2011.  He is a fellow emeritus of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA) and was educated at the University of Virginia and Columbia University. He is also the recipient of the 2010 Clem Labine Award for contributions to a humane built environment.

Semes’s presentation is free and open to the public.  A reception and book signing will follow.   Because space is limited, reservations are required.   Please contact Andy Liguori, at aliguori@aiava.org or (804) 644-3041, extension 100 for reservations. Sponsored by Old House Authority and Fan District Association.